Air NZ drops prices, Jetstar axes flights
Leighton Keith
While Air New Zealand has dropped its fares to and from New Plymouth, Jetstar, its biggest domestic rival, has cut the number of flights to the city.
This week the national carrier announced it was immediately cutting entry level airfares by up to 50 per cent on 41 domestic routes in what was described as the airline’s biggest pricing shake-up in more than 10 years.
The move resulted in some fares to and from Wellington or Auckland being reduced to $39 one way, while some flights to and from Christchurch have dropped to $49 each way.
Meanwhile Jetstar has announced it’s cutting the number of weekly return flights from Auckland to New Plymouth from 14 to nine starting in May but would still be offering competitive fares on the route. Fairs usually start at $29 one way but yesterday the company announced it would offer $25 flights.
Mayor Neil Holdom said Air NZ’s announcement targeting leisure travellers was great news for the region.
‘‘We will be making the most of the opportunity to grow the number of visits to Taranaki,’’ Holdom said in a statement. ‘‘Being able to get return fares to Auckland and Wellington for $80 and to Christchurch for $100 is also great news for the people of Taranaki as it puts us closer to both holiday destinations and business opportunities without blowing the budget.’’
Holdom said he had spoken with Air NZ about how to leverage the opportunity the reduced fares represented to grow the region’s tourism economy. ‘‘With Venture Taranaki and Air NZ collaborating with the PRIP (our airport company), we can grow the high value visitor market to help our rapidly growing tourism sector.’’
A Jetstar spokesman said the airline closely monitored its markets and seasonally adjusted its schedule to match when customers wanted to fly.
‘‘We’ve reduced some of our regional flying in autumn and winter this year to align our capacity with seasonal demand in quieter travel months.’’
He said in the summer peak travel season Jetstar offered 14 return flights a week between New Plymouth and Auckland, which would continue during the peak school holiday periods between May and September. ‘‘Outside the holidays we’ll operate a daily return New Plymouth-Auckland service with an additional return service on Friday and Sunday (nine return services a week.)’’
The airline would continue to offer competitive fares, he said. Other regional routes would also operate an off-peak schedule from May-September, with between two and three fewer weekly return services than last winter outside the holiday periods.